Should I stay or should I transfer?

pbandjen
Wed, 03 Dec 2014 08:48:02 +0000

I am a sophomore currently attending NYU as a communication major, and I have loved my experience so far. The only problem is the rising cost of attendance and my accumulating debt. I originally picked NYU because they were generous enough to give me a scholarship that covers my entire tuition. All payments and loans are going to housing, fees, health care, etc. Unfortunately, one of my loans was taken away due to a misunderstanding, and I cannot get it back. My parents are already making payments each semester. With this loan taken away, more money must be paid each semester. To ease the burden, I have been working two jobs, coming to about 23-25 hours a week to cover what the loan would have covered. It does not affect my grades much, but it can get stressful at times. I know I cannot keep these two jobs for the whole time I am at school because I need more work experience and internships related to my major. Many of these internships are unpaid, so I am not sure if I can continuously make enough to cover additional costs. Because NYU is notorious for bad financial aid and I don’t think my family’s EFC is low enough, I highly doubt I could get more aid.

I have been thinking about going back to my home town, Las Vegas, and transferring to UNLV, a state university which is much more affordable. I would graduate with no debt. Though I love my experience at NYU, I would not object to coming back to my hometown. I was planning to come back to my home town for a little while after I graduated anyways.

However, there are pros and cons to both staying and leaving.

Staying:

Pros

graduate from a university with name value with a great education

finish what I started

continue to be part of the activities and see friends who I’ve become close with

Cons

graduate with a high but still manageable amount of debt (about $25k)

constantly worry about money

constantly worry about finding jobs and internships that would pay, which limits the opportunities I can afford to take

Transferring:

Pros
-be close to family and friends
-live at home and not worry about housing costs
-pay very little and graduate with no additional debt
-find work and internships without having to worry about money
-build connections that would help me after I graduate since I plan to live in Las Vegas for a little while because of its relatively low cost of living
-perhaps look into another major or minor, something I was afraid to explore at NYU because it would have cost more

Cons
-not sure what credits would transfer, there is a chance that I might have to start from scratch
-transfer knowing that I just wasted time and money at NYU
-I still have to pay the loans I signed off on for NYU anyways
-UNLV’s name value is not as great as NYU’s

I feel very stuck on what I should do. I feel guilty for wasting all my parents’ money just to quit and go somewhere else, but I don’t know if staying at NYU and skimping by while constantly stressing about money is the better choice. My parents say they will always support me, and I love them and feel so much gratitude for them. But I hate being such a burden to them.

If you could give me any advice at all, I would be very thankful!